


Run (Run Run Run)

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Training, just a little nice thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 14:30:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12961383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: He made it back and reached for his water, trying to ignore his labored breathing because not all of it was from the running - he was far behind and that could only get him into trouble in actually dangerous situations. However, that thinking could only induce panic and stop him from finishing the exercise.As if he could juststop thinking.





	Run (Run Run Run)

**Author's Note:**

> Basically I'm just projecting my experiences and feelings onto these characters. Working out can get tough.
> 
> Hunk doesn't really know how he feels about Shiro yet.

He stood there, uncertain.

The other paladins filed into the training room, ducking their heads under Shiro’s unimpressed gaze. Hunk had been the only one to show up on time, besides Shiro, and ready to train at six in the morning if their circadian rhythms served them right. On one hand, Hunk couldn’t blame them - the sudden change in routine had everyone frazzled. However, he couldn’t help but be aggravated by their tardiness because it put him in an awkward silence with the decisive head of their team. Sure, Shiro seemed like a good man but how much could Hunk know about him in just a week?

They fumbled into position. With the ring of a bell, the young paladins began their stretches together as Shiro observed. He felt the burn in his muscles and the remnants of sleep falling off his body as he finished with tricep stretches and focused on his breathing, knowing that he would need it for whatever came next. 

Warm up that morning included jumping rope and a lap around the castle. Then, Shiro called to them, “Okay everyone, grab a ball and meet me outside.”

The castle’s gymnasium had weighted balls in the closet. Hunk grabbed one with twenty pounds, besting everyone on the team with Keith and Lance only a bit behind him, holding fifteen pounds. Pidge had the lightest with just ten pounds, but the ball was bigger than her head and she had to wrap her arms around it because her hands were too tiny. 

They walked out to find Shiro placing a cone on the other side of the field and he jogged over to them.

“We’re starting with sprints today - no balls yet, we’ll use those later.” He heard Lance stifle a giggle. “Line up and wait for my call.”

Hunk took his place between Lance and Pidge, placing his water bottle on the ground behind him. He kept his eyes on the cone in the distance, about half of a football field away. It didn’t seem like too far then, but he knew he’d soon disagree - he always did. Cardio was never kind to him.

There was a chime, and they took off running. He kept a steady pace, only a couple feet behind but going strong. In the background, he heard Shiro yelling, “Don’t rest when you hit the cone, keep going,” and clapping his hands. 

Halfway back, Hunk looked up to see Lance and Keith already on their way to the cone again. They were bickering - likely, Lance had started it with his usual banter and it escalated from there. However, Hunk couldn’t figure out how they could possibly yell at each other in the middle of a run without passing out; he was struggling to regulate his own breathing. 

“Don’t slow down,” Shiro said when he passed the starting cone. Hunk rolled his eyes and huffed, but turned around and started again. There was an ache in his shins and a cramp on his left side but he had to push through. Instead of staring at the finish line, he glared at the ground and growled to let out some frustration, looking for that second wind to keep him going.

He made it back and reached for his water, trying to ignore his labored breathing because not all of it was from the running - he was far behind and that could only get him into trouble in actually dangerous situations. However, that thinking could only induce panic and stop him from finishing the exercise.

As if he could just _stop thinking._

Next, they had to leap sideways towards the door and then back. It was weird, but easier than the sprints as long as he kept his form proper. He heard Shiro calling out Pidge and Keith, who kept turning their hips as if to move forwards and not to the side. 

Huffing out, “Fuck,” Hunk started it again, silently wondering what they were going to eventually use the balls for.

He wished he never asked, because as soon as he finished drinking his water, Shiro told them all that they were going to do the circuit over again. This time, however, they had to hold the extra weight the entire way through. If they dropped it, they’d have to start all over again.

Every paladin was going slower than when they first started, but Hunk was really feeling the pain. His feet were starting to drag a bit and he was officially freaking out. His hands were clammy not just from the workout but from the sheer anxiety and embarrassment and his upper lip tingled. 

But he had to push forward. This was his very best at the moment - surely he’d be better and faster in battle where it was life and death and raw adrenaline would be rushing through his blood, but for now, this was his best. And he was ready to stop.

It took a turn for the worse when he walked about a foot to pass the cone. Apparently, Shiro’s rule was to always finish strong and if someone got sloppy towards the end, they’d have to start over.

_Fuck you_ Hunk thought as he jogged back with the ball against his chest. _Fuck you and fuck all of this. I’m done. I’m saying no after this. No._

He was upset; that was the least of it. His friends were finishing up their sideways leaps, all tuckered out and dousing themselves with water as they went inside. Shiro was saying something but all Hunk could hear was the slapping of his feet against the ground and the huffs of air he managed to push out. 

Managing to stay strong until the cone, he dropped the ball and rested his hands on his knees. He felt like he had just emerged from ten minutes underwater and his heart was pounding like crazy. 

_Is this a heart attack?_

Hunk knew it wasn't. Teenagers rarely experienced heart attacks, and he wasn't really feeling chest pain, just chest tension. And he had no history of heart problems and neither did his family. He was fine.

Except he wasn't, beyond the possible heart failure. Shiro was behind him, trying to encourage him with the same words that dozens of previous coaches had used before. Fuck that. This was his limit - it had to be, and if the team’s leader couldn't recognize that then Hunk knew he wouldn't be able to rely on him.

“Shiro,” he said. “I’m done.”

The black paladin’s eyes squinted as he straightened his back. “No way, Hunk. It's all mental, now pick up the ball.”

“I can't.”

“You can.”

He could. Deep down, he knew that. There was still enough strength in him to haul the ball over his chest and side-jump another two laps. It'd be painful, but it was possible. And he found himself moving despite his protests, thinking to himself that this wouldn't last much longer.

Across from him, Shiro was doing the same movement. Hunk didn't look at his face and it was all going painfully slow and he kind of wished that Shiro would go away, but he also knew that Hunk would have stopped if not for him. If he let himself stop just once, it would turn into a pattern and he wouldn't improve at all.

“It's all mental,” he told him. “It's all mental. You just gotta push through.”

He felt his form become sloppy; he could barely hold up the ball anymore. It rested against his chest like the weight of the world - as if it wasn't already on his shoulders. His legs kept moving despite everything, despite his harsh breathing that bordered onto sobs. The world became fuzzy. He had one more lap. One more.

And he made it. Barely. 

It was hurting, but he made it. Water had never tasted so good before that day and he let it dribble down his chin. The others were waiting for him and Shiro, but fuck it, he made it.

“Walk it off, buddy,” Shiro said, taking the ball from Hunk.

Hunk nodded and started to pace the field as a nice cool down. His breath was coming back to him and he had become hyper-aware of the hair sticking to his sweaty face, the ache in his muscles and the way his hands shook slightly. 

There would be more to do when he got back to the castle. Probably some abdomen exercises - crunches, sit ups, Russian twists, all that stuff.

At least he got the hard stuff out of the way.

Lance gave him a high five when he returned but didn't say anything. The blue paladin really was his biggest fan, along with both of his moms and his sister. He laced up his shoes as Shiro barked at them to line up on the ground and - yeah - start doing sit ups. 

He'd power through these, too. It was best to do ten sets of five with a two second break in between. Then it was the Russian twists. Then the fire hydrants, which was always an awkward one, and it just went on until the burn was almost too much to bear.

“Wrap up, guys,” Shiro told them, and all the paladins sighed with relief.

-

Hunk had been going for a solid four minutes at the speed bags. Alternating between hands made the ball bounce back faster and the rhythm he kept was an envy amongst the team. 

When he finally broke to let his arms rest and grab some water, he found Shiro downstairs. The black paladin was helping Pidge wrap her hands; because her palms were so tiny, she needed to make adjustments that would keep the bones in place.

“Thanks, Shiro,” he heard her say before she sprinted up the stairs. Hunk’s back had been turned towards them as he drank and didn't realize that the black paladin was standing behind him until he turned around.

Meeting Shiro’s eyes for once, he nodded and gave a polite smile and then went to move past him. 

However, Shiro spoke before he could leave. “Hey, you good?”

Hunk responded, “Yeah, I’m good.”

It wasn't a lie - he really did feel fine now that he had moved on from the grueling experience outside. A bit embarrassed, maybe, but fine. 

“I’m proud of the effort you put in today,” he told the yellow paladin, placing his human hand on his shoulder. “I know it wasn't easy, but I want you to know that we all have moments like that.”

_Sure, Shiro_ , Hunk thought, a bit bitter at the idea of being patronized. _I’m sure you've done the exact same thing._

He knew the man was trying his best, but it wasn't very convincing.

“You're probably thinking, ‘ _oh, how would he know?_ ’ right?” Shiro continued as the two paladins began to walk towards the stairs. “But I’ve been in a similar position with my old coach. It was cardio day, like today, and I genuinely thought I was going to die.”

“I was hyperventilating and just crying my eyes out, but he wouldn't let me stop for anything. Even when I threw up all over his shoes and begged, he told me to get up and keep moving. And it was hell, but I made it.”

Hunk had to stifle a laugh because, oh my god, that must have been so mortifying for Shiro. At least he didn't puke on his commanding officer.

However, Shiro did laugh. “Yeah, it was awful, but I’m glad I didn't stop.”

Feeling a bit lighter in his heart, Hunk grinned wide. “I’m glad I didn't stop, either.”

Shiro patted his shoulder and Hunk started towards the bags again, realizing that maybe this guy would be a better leader than he thought and that, maybe, he could trust him a little bit more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
